Tag: style

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Aaron Dalton

Learning from History

October 6, 2020 by Aaron Dalton | 4 Comments on Learning from History

This post is part of a series of case studies by and for in-house editors. The focus of this series is on the personal experiences and various roles of in-house editors. If you’re interested in writing a post for this series, please email the Member Services Committee. One of the reasons our species has flourished is that […]

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James Harbeck

But Is It Art?

February 11, 2020 by James Harbeck | 3 Comments on But Is It Art?

Is writing art? And if it is, what is editing? If we say writing is “artful,” or “artistic” or “an art,” we mean that we appreciate it aesthetically and admire it for the skill it evinces. But if we say not “writing is an art” but “writing is art” — or “this text is a […]

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Jessica Coles

Alone at the Intersection of Editing and Engineering

August 11, 2019 by Jessica Coles | 6 Comments on Alone at the Intersection of Editing and Engineering

This post is part of a new series of case studies by and for in-house editors. The focus of this series is on the personal experiences and various roles of in-house editors. A post will appear on the Editors’ Weekly every other month. If you’re interested in writing a post for this series, please email the Member Services Committee.  […]

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Wendy Barron

PerfectIt 4: Faster and More Customizable Than Ever

July 2, 2019 by Wendy Barron | 3 Comments on PerfectIt 4: Faster and More Customizable Than Ever

When I joined the publishing department of Legal Aid BC last year, none of my colleagues had used PerfectIt. But I have used it for years; I was hooked the first time I ran it on a manuscript and saw how quickly and accurately it found the one U-less “neighbor” in a sea of “neighbours,” […]

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James Harbeck

Digital Enhancement for Numbers (Go Figures!)

April 9, 2019 by James Harbeck | 4 Comments on Digital Enhancement for Numbers (Go Figures!)

At the ACES conference in Providence, Rhode Island, in late March, the Associated Press announced changes to their recommendations for handling numbers and debated some others. About sixty percent of those present gasped when one of the recommendations was made — in fact, it might have been 70 percent. No, I’m going with 80% of […]

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James Harbeck

Currying Favour With Your Readers

August 8, 2017 by James Harbeck | 2 Comments on Currying Favour With Your Readers

Editing and writing have a lot in common with cooking. For one thing, people come to a text, as to a restaurant, with certain expectations and ideals, and you should satisfy them. You don’t have to give them something completely predictable — especially if you’re in a line more artistic than industrial — but you do want […]

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Marion Soubliere

Attending Conferences at Home and Abroad? Aye!

July 11, 2017 by Marion Soublière | 2 Comments on Attending Conferences at Home and Abroad? Aye!

For editors, industry conferences are like chicken soup for the soul. Editing can be a lonely profession, but combining learning with camaraderie is a spirit-boosting elixir. Many of us are still brimming with ideas and newfound confidence following June’s 2017 Editors Canada conference in Gatineau. Such learning and networking need not stop with membership in […]

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Virginia Durksen

The Inner Editor: The Voice and Its Vices

September 27, 2016 by Virginia Durksen | 3 Comments on The Inner Editor: The Voice and Its Vices

When editors talk about a writer’s “voice,” we usually mean something like a writer’s style or tone or stance. Even if you’ve never given much thought to this term, you’ll know what “voice” means if you can recall a moment when you, as a child, first heard “Don’t use that voice with me, young lady.” It’s a command […]

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James Harbeck

Omitting Periods? It’s About Genres.

July 5, 2016 by James Harbeck | 1 Comment on Omitting Periods? It’s About Genres.

“Period. Full Stop. Point. Whatever It’s Called, It’s Going Out of Style,” declared a New York Times headline. Noted linguist David Crystal had made some comments observing that the period is not requisite in text messages, and as such is used only “to show irony, syntactic snark, insincerity, even aggression,” as article author Dan Bilefsky […]

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Frances Peck

Perilous Punctuation: The Email Salutation

May 31, 2016 by Frances Peck | 20 Comments on Perilous Punctuation: The Email Salutation

An old friend from Ottawa recently visited me in Vancouver. We hadn’t seen each other in years. “One thing I’ll never forget about you,” said Ann (who is not an editor), “is that you taught me the right way to begin an email. Every time I write ‘Hi comma So-and-So period,’ I think of you.” […]

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Dwain Richardson

English Editing in Quebec: All About Style (Part Two)

May 24, 2016 by Dwain Richardson | 1 Comment on English Editing in Quebec: All About Style (Part Two)

Last November, I underlined major stylistic differences between English and French. Here are a few more. To combine or not to combine English articles with French ones? When incorporating French names in English copy, remember two rules: Do not lowercase French articles (e.g., La Presse, not la Presse). Do not combine French articles with English […]

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Dwain Richardson

English Editing in Quebec: All About Style

November 17, 2015 by Dwain Richardson | 9 Comments on English Editing in Quebec: All About Style

Whenever you do a concordance reading or translation, you certainly notice that the two or more languages you are working with show many stylistic differences. English and French are no strangers to this phenomenon. For instance, have you observed that French texts and translations are often longer than texts written in or translated into English? […]

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Victoria Neufeldt

We’re All Looking for Style

July 14, 2015 by Victoria Neufeldt | 8 Comments on We’re All Looking for Style

What is style in writing? Writers — and their editors, of course — must think about this, but not everyone agrees on what is appropriate. A writer of non-fiction, for example, probably aims for an unobtrusive style in which the language — the words and phrases, the syntax and grammar — takes second place to the content. […]

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Lori Burwash

Lessons Learned From Eminem, David Ogilvy and a Sex Hotline

April 29, 2014 by Lori Burwash | 18 Comments on Lessons Learned From Eminem, David Ogilvy and a Sex Hotline

It all started respectably enough. Publishing courses at Ryerson, EAC workshops and conferences, the Banff Book Editing Workshop. I’ve had rock-solid editorial training. So what have a rap artist, an ad man and a sex hotline taught me about writing and editing? Some pretty useful things, it turns out. Eminem: Write and edit like a […]

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Karen Virag

GETTABLE GRAMMAR: Taking issue with “issues”

July 11, 2013 by Karen Virag | 4 Comments on GETTABLE GRAMMAR: Taking issue with “issues”

I think I remember the first time I heard the word issues used as a synonym for problems. I was watching a long-forgotten television sitcom, and one character commented on another’s weird behaviour by saying, “She has issues.” She overenunciated the word issues and at the same time made little scratching gestures with her index […]

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